This invention relates to a video presentation system for a bowling scoring system. It now is commonplace in bowling establishments to have apparatus that automatically detects the number of bowling pins knocked down by a bowler, and to have apparatus that receives pinfall data signals and automatically computes the bowler's score according to the scoring rules of the American Bowling Congress. It also is commonplace to display the bowling scores on cathode ray tubes (CRT's) located in the bowling area so that bowlers and spectators can view the running scores of the bowlers. A common arrangement is to place a pair of cathode ray tubes and automatic scoring apparatus adjacent a respective pair of bowling lanes to display scores of bowlers using that pair of lanes.
The bowling scoring apparatus at the pair of lanes is in a bowler's console that includes a data input means such as a keyboard to input bowler names, handicaps, and to produce certain signals for control of pin setting and sensing equipment, the scoring apparatus, the display means, and possibly to communicate to the manager's console at the front desk and with other consoles and apparatus in the establishment. Commonly, one bowler's console serves two adjacent lanes. The apparatus functions to keep track of a bowler's bowling lane as he bowls on one and the other in accordance with bowling league rules, or it can function to accommodate non-league (open) bowling where a bowler bowls his entire game on one lane.
As examples of apparatus of the type described above, reference is made to the following U.S. patents relating to the detection of bowling pins that remain standing after a ball is rolled. 4,140,314; 4,148,480; and 4,148,481. The following U.S. patents relate to automatic scoring apparatus: 3,700,236; 4,092,727; and 4,302,010. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,302,010; 4,131,948; RE 28,503; as well as the above mentioned patents disclose apparatus for displaying bowling scores on cathode ray tubes. All the above patents are assigned to applicants' assignee and their teachings are incorporated herein by reference.
The game of bowling can be played under diverse situations, such as league or open bowling, as mentioned above, head-to-head bowling where only two bowlers compete against each other, and a lone bowler, as some examples. It is desirable that the presentation of the bowling scores on the CRT be flexible and versatile so that the scores can be selectively displayed most advantageously for whatever bowling situation is present. Furthermore, it promotes interest in the game of bowling to present the scores to bowlers and spectators in meaningful and interesting ways.
The present invention is directed to electronic apparatus for controlling the presentation of bowling scores on color CRTs to provide varied and interesting displays. The invention permits the bowlers or the establishment manager to select display formats having different characteristics such as character size or style. Furthermore, the invention may selectively cause the entire bowling scorecard grid and running frame scores to be displayed on the face of the CRT, or only a portion of the scorecard grid and a number of the most recently bowled frames or some number of frames less than all frames. For example, it might be desirable to show only the five most active frames for each bowler in order to improve the visibility of the scoring display.
If six bowlers are bowling on a league team, for example, the establishment manager may select a display format characterized by a scorecard grid pattern having six horizontal bands, one for each bowler. In this instance the characters for the names, scores, and other legends and writings will be of a relatively small size to fit the entire team scoring in substantially a given area on the face of the CRT. If only five bowlers are present on a league team, the apparatus senses that only five player's names have been entered into the bowlers console and automatically reformats the display for a five player scoresheet grid. The size of the grid blocks and the dimensions of the alpha-numeric characters are proportioned to be larger than for a six player format. Alternatively, the reformatting could be accomplished in response to commands from the manager's console at the front desk or from the bowler's console. In this instance format change, characters of the names, score, etc. are larger in size in the vertical direction so as to be more visible. Further, as mentioned above, the manager, or the bowlers, may select video format commands at their respective keyboards to cause some number less than all of the frames to be displayed on the grid format. For head-to-head match between two bowlers, the manger can cause only two bands of scoring grid to be displayed and only the two bowler's names and scores will be shown in the grid. The grid dimensions and character sizes may be much larger than for league play, for example, so that they fill a substantial portion of the CRT face and are visable for a great distance. Further, if desired, a fewer number than all the frames may be displayed, again enlarging the dimensions of the grid and characters, if desired.
In addition to the above mentioned characteristics of a bowling scoring display that may be changed or selected, the characteristic of colors in the display may be selected or changed. For example, the manager may select video format commands at his keyboard to cause the scorecard grid to be one color, the background of the CRT face to a second color, and the name and score characters to be one or more different colors, and the band across the face of the CRT that contains the "up" bowler's name and scorecard grid may be yet a different color that may not be flashed on and off for emphasis.
In a presently preferred embodiment of this invention, video graphic command signals corresponding to the various selectable scorecard grids and alpha-numeric characters to be selectively displayed are stored at respective locations in storage or database means in the apparatus. Video format command signals corresponding to the desired format display characteristic are entered at the bowler's and/or manager's console to call from the score means the desired graphic control signals that cause the CRT to display the selected score grid and alpha-numeric signals.
The video generation circuitry is extremely versatile due to the fact that it is implemented by a method known as "bit mapping". Bit mapped displays allow complete freedom of character size and placement on the CRT face. This freedom is due to the fact that characters are drawn on the CRT face a bit, i.e., pixel, at a time, as opposed to the character being permanently defined in a non volatile memory chip. This allows mathematical algorithms to be used to scale and position the characters to fit in any particular format selected. The "bit mapped" display also will allow very simple implementation of new formats and special characters such as Katakana, a Japanese alphabet. A pixel is defined as the smallest dot of color which can be individually turned on or off on the face of a CRT by the video generation circuitry.
As previously stated and explained, the video graphic commands signals for the different grids and characters are stored and the video format command signals put in at the manager's or bowler's keyboard causes the selected formats to be retrieved from the memory and displayed as the game progresses. Alternative means might be employed wherein the video format commands ultimately control one or more grid and character generators to directly generate the necessary video graphic commands to actively produce the desired format characteristic in the display. In other words, the video format commands would not be sotred, but would be actively generated as needed for the display selected.